


Tripped Up

by AgentStannerShipper



Series: tumblr ficlets [129]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Secret Relationship, becomes not so secret relationship, starfleet functions, this is definitely some cute nonsense and i love it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentStannerShipper/pseuds/AgentStannerShipper
Summary: Even a few years into her Starfleet service, crowds still make Tasha nervous.
Relationships: Data/Tasha Yar
Series: tumblr ficlets [129]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250822
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	Tripped Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lasernahrwal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasernahrwal/gifts).



> For the combination prompt on tumblr from lasernahrwal: hiding/hoping not to be caught kiss, passionate kiss, accidentally witnessed kiss.

Tasha was a professional. She’d spent years training herself to be composed, attentive but not anxious, alert but not alarmed. Which was why she folded her hands behind her back, rather than fidgeting with the sleeves of her dress uniform the way she wanted to.

The event hall was crowded with Starfleet’s finest, along with the assortment of diplomats customary to this sort of event. She recognized members of her own crew scattered around the room. Like her, Worf was in a corner, not quite glowering but about as unapproachable as she felt. Riker was laughing at the center of the dance floor, twirling an unfamiliar lieutenant to the music. The captain had been accosted by a group of admirals. Deanna had been cornered by her mother.

It was hard not to press her back against the wall and look for the escape routes. It wasn’t like she hadn’t memorized them; Tasha knew the entire layout of Starfleet Headquarters by heart. She’d memorized it, with particular attention to the centers where diplomatic and official events were held, as part of her security training. And she wasn’t on duty tonight. This event was a celebration, and the crew of the _Enterprise_ was there as guests, not guards. Sometimes the purpose of the flagship really was just to sit and look pretty. It should have been reassuring. It wasn’t.

Tasha scanned the room again. There had to be over a thousand people, just at a guess. They were all dressed like her, a sea of red and blue and gold, mixed occasionally with the formal dress of a dozen different cultures. People clustered in small groups, or danced at the center of the room, or chatted at the ornately furnished tables off to the side, or sampled food from the buffet. Tasha’s stomach roiled, and she clenched her hands tighter.

There was a stage towards the front of the room, and a curtain behind it. Tasha edged her way around the perimeter, ducking around a gaggle of excited ensigns, and slipped behind the curtain with a sigh of relief. She dropped into a seat on the steps leading up to the stage, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, closing her eyes. The chatter of the room still echoed, invasive in her ears, but for a few short moments, she felt completely at ease.

Footsteps brought her back to herself, and she scrambled to her feet, back ramrod straight as someone rounded the curtain. Then she relaxed again. “Data.”

He had a glass of punch in his hand, garishly red. He handed it to Tasha, and she sniffed it before taking a sip. This wasn’t an Academy party. It probably wasn’t spiked. But you could never be too careful.

“We are likely not supposed to be back here,” he told her, although he made no move to leave either.

Tasha cradled the glass in her hands. “I know. I just…needed a minute. Lot of people.”

“I would have thought you would have become accustomed to attending this sort of event by now.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” Tasha sighed and shook her head. “I’m probably being a little dramatic. I’m fine.”

Data raised his eyebrows. “You do not have a propensity for these sorts of dramatics. If you felt the need to isolate yourself for a moment, it is likely you truly needed it.” He hesitated, “Would you like me to leave?”

“No!” Tasha blushed. She sat down again, setting her cup aside and dragging Data down to sit beside her. “You don’t count, you know that.” She wrapped her arms around one of Data’s and leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to sit with me, you know.”

“You just indicated you would prefer my presence.”

“I know.” Tasha swallowed. She stared at their feet. Two pairs of Starfleet-issue boots side by side. “I’m sure there are people you’d rather talk to, though.”

“You overestimate my social abilities. Most of our friends are otherwise occupied, and my skills at small talk are still extremely lacking.” Data was studying her. Tasha could feel his eyes even without looking. “You are aware this qualifies as a public display of affection,” he said.

Tasha glanced at their linked arms, and then looked away, loathe to let go. “No one can see us.”

“Given that the current attendance is one thousand, two hundred, and forty-eight, it is highly likely-“

“Data, please,” Tasha said, and he quieted.

After a moment, he spoke again, and this time is was a gentle push, a query phrased as a statement. “You are the one who requested our relationship remain a secret. This is not conducive to that desire.”

Guilt panged through Tasha, and she pushed it away again. They hadn’t been together that long, only a few months, and Data had said he understood. There were reasons not to tell people. Legitimate ones. But that didn’t mean she always felt good about it.

“It’s not like we’re out there dancing,” she said. “We’re just…sitting here.” She fidgeted, then untangled their arms so she could turn to look at him fully. “You know it’s not about you, right? Why I don’t want people to know?”

“That is not an accurate statement,” Data pointed out. “There are reasons not to disclose our status that are directly related not only to my position on the _Enterprise_ , but my status as an artificial lifeform.” He hesitated. “Tasha, I am not distressed by this. You need not worry about my feelings.”

Tasha bit her lip, trying and failing to suppress a smile. “We’ll tell everyone eventually,” she said. “I promise.” She glanced back towards the edge of the curtain, straining her ears to ensure no one was coming to investigate, and then hooked her fingers in the folds of Data’s dress uniform, tugging him forward into a kiss. She’d meant to keep it a sweet one, but then Data’s hand came up to thread into her hair, and his lips went slack and parted against hers, and Tasha was licking eagerly into his mouth before she really thought about it, moaning softly in appreciation as the kiss turned heated. She panted and broke it, resting her forehead against his as she fought to catch her breath, grinning sheepishly as she said, “It would be bad form for us to find a closet somewhere, right?”

Data cocked his head, brow furrowing. “Why would we wish to find a closet?”

Tasha laughed, sitting back and pulling Data’s hand gently from her hair, pressing a kiss to his palm before releasing it. “You’re cute, Data.”

“So you have told me. But it does not answer the question.”

“Never mind,” Tasha told him. She got to her feet, offering her hand out to help him up too. Data took it, and stood with her. Unable to resist, Tasha pulled him in for one last kiss, her hand anchoring on the back of his neck. He rocked forward into her on instinct, and she took half a step back, then yelped in surprise as her heel kicked the cup she’d set aside, spilling the punch across the wooden slats and sending Tasha tumbling back into the curtain, and Data with her.

They landed in a heap, still nose to nose, Data braced on one hand to keep from crushing her. They stared at each other for a moment, unblinking, and then Tasha tipped her head back. Upside down, she had a pretty clear view of the room. A view that told her that just about every one of the over twelve hundred people had turned to see what the commotion by the stage was as they’d crashed through the curtain. Her cheeks burned and Data sat back, holding out his hand to pull her to her feet. “It may be difficult to obfuscate the truth of this incident in a way that is not compromising,” Data said softly.

Tasha stared at him, then back at the room of people. Several were still looking at them, but most had returned their attention to whatever it was they’d been doing before. “Fuck it,” she said, and yanked him back down to her, into another kiss.

Data blinked when she stood, dusting off her uniform. He hesitated. “I believe I am confused.”

She laughed. “That makes two of us.” She offered him her elbow, and he took it without question, following after when she guided him away from the stage. At his continued questioning look, she shrugged. “They were going to figure it out anyway.”

“There will likely be consequences.”

“We aren’t going to be court-martialled,” Tasha snorted. “Everything else, we can deal with as it comes.” She gazed out at the room, her eyes skipping back when she saw Deanna, who had her eyebrows raised and was making very intense eye contact. She swallowed hard. “Hey, Data?”

“Yes?”

“Want to revisit my closet plan?”

“I am still not certain I understand the purpose-“

“I’ll show you.” Deanna took a few steps towards them, and Tasha took off, dragging Data in her wake. Inside her, another laugh bubbled up, and she let it out, grinning back at Data as they ran.

There’d be grilling tomorrow, from the captain and Deanna and probably most of their friends. But that was tomorrow’s problem. Tonight, Tasha was going to find the most inconspicuous closet that Starfleet Headquarters had to offer, and teach Data another tidbit about being human.


End file.
